Durham · Chapel Hill · Raleigh · October 31, 2026

Happy Halloween! Early Voting Ends Today

⚡ Quick Hits

🗳️ Early voting ends at 3 p.m. Saturday, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
🎃 Durham will compost your jack-o'-lanterns all through November.
🏍️ Vintage British motorcycles and horror movies take over Durham Central Park on Halloween.

🔔 Heads Up

🌤️ Weather: Partly sunny and mild through Tuesday, with highs from 67 to 75 and lows from 45 to 56, then a chance of showers Wednesday afternoon and night. (NWS)
👻 Franklin Street: Halloween plus UNC's 7:30 p.m. game against No. 1 Miami means big crowds in downtown Chapel Hill Saturday night. The street stays open, with extra police on hand, so allow extra time and watch for pedestrians. (ABC11)
🗳️ Voting: Early voting ends at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, your last chance to register and vote the same day. On Tuesday, Nov. 3, polls are open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at your assigned polling place, and you'll be asked for a photo ID. (NCSBE)
🚧 Roads: Raleigh closes Glenwood South from Jones to Peace streets at 7 p.m. Saturday, and parked cars have to move by 4 p.m. Sunday's City of Oaks Marathon starts and finishes on the same stretch. (WUNC)
🎃 Pumpkins: Durham composts unpainted pumpkins and squash through November. Drop them at the Home Depot lots on Mt. Moriah Road or N. Pointe Drive on Nov. 7 or 14, 8 a.m. to noon, or anytime the Waste Disposal & Recycling Center on E. Club Blvd. is open. (City of Durham)
🏫 Schools: Durham Public Schools' traditional-calendar students are off Monday and Tuesday, both also inclement-weather reserve days. Chapel Hill-Carrboro and Wake County traditional-calendar students are off Tuesday.

📌 Top Story

Chapel Hill will name a future park on Legion Road for former Mayor Howard Lee and educator Lillian Lee, and the road into it will be Howard N. Lee Street. He was elected in 1969 as Chapel Hill's first Black mayor and helped start the town's transit system that same year; she founded the UNC Hospital School and in 1977 became the first person of color on Orange County's elections board.

📰 Around the Triangle

Durham Distillery made a bourbon: the gin house's first whiskey, Damn Fine Kentucky Straight Bourbon, is a blend of eight barrels, and the first batch is 2,080 bottles. (Raleigh Magazine)
The Hedgepeth verdict is headed to appeal: attorneys for Miguel Salguero-Olivares, convicted last week in the 2012 killing of UNC student Faith Hedgepeth, filed notice of appeal. (ABC11)
A three-year bachelor's degree could be coming: 11 UNC System schools proposed at least one, and the system will pick which programs get startup grants of up to $20,000. (Raleigh Magazine)
Robots will park your car in downtown Raleigh: North Carolina's first underground robotic garage, at City Gateway, is slated to open early in 2027 with room for 228 vehicles — twice what a regular deck that size holds. (Raleigh Magazine)

📅 Plan Your Week

🎃 Saturday, October 31 (Today)

The Great British Bike Off: Durham Central Park, 2 to 8 p.m. The first one: vintage British motorcycles, a swap, and horror movies. Free. (Details)
Cattyrompus: The Pinhook, Durham, from 2 p.m. Sleepy Cat Records' fifth annual festival goes Halloween, with a costume contest and a mask-making station. $15 to $40. (Details)
Scare-olina Skies: Morehead Planetarium, Chapel Hill, 4:30 p.m. A spooky tour of the Chapel Hill night sky under the dome. 👨‍👩‍👧 (Details)
UNC vs. No. 1 Miami: Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill, 7:30 p.m., on ABC. (Details)
NC State vs. California: Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh, noon. It's Homecoming. (Details)

🎹 Sunday, November 1

Awadagin Pratt: Baldwin Auditorium, Duke, 2 p.m. The acclaimed pianist's America 250 program. Tickets from $35, students $10. (Details)
African Textiles at the Ackland II: Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill, 2 p.m. Artist and conservator Stacey L. Kirby on the textiles she treated for Continental Shift. Free; RSVP. (Details)

🐦 Monday, November 2

Procession of the Cardinals: Durham Central Park, 5 p.m. A 30-minute twilight procession from Wendy Hower and Tyler Dennis, part of the Durham Fringe Festival. Free. (Details)

🗳️ Tuesday, November 3

Astronomy on Tap: Fullsteam, Durham, 7 p.m. Astronomy talks over beer, plus trivia. Free. (Details)
Carolina Science Cafe: Haw River Tap & Table, Carrboro, 6 p.m. An Election Day special: UNC's Jason Roberts on how relationships and collaboration work in Congress. Free. (Details)

🎸 Wednesday, November 4

Sweet Pill: Motorco, Durham, 8 p.m., with Heart to Gold and Stereosity. $32. (Details)
Porcelains and Power: Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill, 5:30 p.m. Michigan historian Ian Shin on Chinese art collecting in the age of American ascendancy. Free; RSVP. (Details)

Five days only goes so far. The longer view is on the calendar, and it runs into the holidays.

💬 Heard Around Town

A Durham neighbor thanked the stranger who stepped in with Narcan, and passed along that free naloxone kits are available at the DHHS building downtown. (Thread)
Pour Taproom is closing at the end of the month, according to a neighbor who saw its post and counted Lula and Sadie's, Part and Parcel, and Durty Bull among this year's other Durham losses. (Thread)
Police were stopping speeders on Chapel Hill's Legion Road, two in ten minutes by one count. (Thread)

🏡 Triangle Pulse

📊 Stat of the brief: In an average year, RDU's first fall freeze arrives around Nov. 3. It has come as early as Oct. 2, in 1947, and held off as late as Dec. 3, in 1931. (NOAA climate records for Raleigh-Durham)

Before You Go

Carolina Hurricanes fans are the most polite fan base in the NHL, at least online. A study of 1.6 million comments on all 32 teams' subreddits found swearing in just 8.62% of Caniacs' comments, the lowest rate in the league.

🧠 Brain break: today's Daily Fury is live. Five questions, the same five for everyone. Defend the Triangle's honor.

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